The Great Falls Police Department said on Nov. 13 that the suspicious item found in Gibson Park last week “appears to be a simple homemade explosive.”

“Our law enforcement partners have collected the device for analysis and evidence collection purposes. A criminal investigations was started the day the device was found and, due to the nature of that investigation, no additional details will be disclosed at this time,” according to GFPD.

GFPD, Malmstrom bomb squad investigating suspicious item in Gibson Park; public asked to avoid area

GFPD responded to a report of a suspicious item near the center of the south end of the park around noon Nov. 6/

GFPD requested assistance from the Malmstrom Air Force Base explosive ordnance disposal team, but they were unavailable.

The Missoula Police Department’s EOD team was training in Helena and responded to the park and removed the item for further investigation.